United Kingdom Defends Detention Of David Miranda, Glenn Greenwald’s Partner

The transaction signed previously observes Infinigate as a value added distributor VAD for the file transfer system. Infinigate will encourage and vend a wide choice of Ipswitch products. Loic Triger, VP for international sales at Ipswitch File Transfer told The UK is a strong market for us, with both public and private organisations striving to keep in line with the Data Protection Act and the latest specific industry compliance. The UK Commissioner s Office is taking a firmer interest in UK businesses that don t meet standards, heightening the risk of fines and reputational damage caused by the loss of sensitive data.” Infinigate will include Ipswitch products named MOVEit, and WS_FTP Server and WS_FTP Pro, which it will bid to its UK reseller public, private businesses and government firms. As a leading provider of security solutions in the UK, it is imperative that we only work with vendors that have the most comprehensive and robust solutions available, which is why we chose Ipswitch File Transfer. The MOVEit portfolio fits perfectly into our solution-based approach and product portfolio, and we already have some strong ideas for promoting and increasing traction with our resellers and with the end user community, Murray Pearce, MD of Infinigate, stated. Ipswitch File Transfer offers secure, managed file transfer (MFT), enterprise application integration, FTP server and FTP client software. The company has long been an innovator when it comes to helping people and companies move data and files securely. Positioned as a Leader in the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed File Transfer, Ipswitch File Transfer is the only company in this space to offer the full spectrum of products that address needs from simple person-to-person through to enterprise-level B2B integration. Infinigate is a leading Value Added Distributor (VAD) of IT security solutions in Europe. The company was founded in 1996 and has today 7 subsidiaries.

United Kingdom Tourism Report Q4 2013 – New Study Released

Miranda, a 28-year-old university student, was traveling home to Brazil after visiting Germany, where he met with Laura Poitras, a U.S. filmmaker who has worked with Greenwald on the NSA stories. Greenwald said Miranda was carrying materials between the two, but didnt specify what they were. The government and the police have a duty to protect the public and our national security, the Home Office said in a statement. If the police believe that an individual is in possession of highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism, then they should act and the law provides them with a framework to do that, it said. Those who oppose this sort of action need to think about what they are condoning. . . . Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger characterized the detention of Miranda as part of a campaign of official intimidation against the newspaper since it began publishing stories based on Snowdens leaks in June. The articles revealed details of surveillance of electronic communications carried out by U.S. and British spies. For more on what Snowdens documents reveal, watch the discussion with Washington Post contributor Barton Gellman below. (On Background) Barton Gellman, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, and a former Washington Post staff writer, first reported for the The Post on the National Security Agency’s extensive surveillance programs.

– Higher than previously projected budget deficits and debt primarily reflects the weak growth performance of the UK economy in recent years, partly due to headwinds of private and public sector deleveraging and the eurozone crisis. Fitch has revised down its forecast economic growth in 2013 and 2014 to 0.8% and 1.8%, respectively, from 1.5% and 2.0% at the time of the last review of the UK’s sovereign ratings in September 2012. The UK economy is not expected to reach its 2007 level of real GDP until 2014, underscoring the weakness of the economic recovery. – Despite significant progress in reducing public sector net borrowing (PSNB from a peak of 11.2% of GDP (GBP159bn) in 2009-10, the budget deficit remains 7.4% of GDP (excluding the effect of the transfer of Royal Mail pensions) and is not expected to fall below 6% of GDP and GBP100bn until the end of the current parliament term. The slower pace of deficit reduction means that the next government will be required to implement substantial spending reductions (and/or tax increases) if public debt is to be stabilised and reduced over the medium term. The Stable Outlook on the UK’s sovereign ratings reflects the following factors. – Under Fitch’s baseline economic and fiscal scenario, which assumes a continued policy commitment to reducing the underlying budget deficit and medium-term annual growth potential of 2%-2.25%, government debt gradually falls as a share of national income in the latter half of the decade. – The long average maturity of public debt (15 years) – the longest of any high-grade sovereign -exclusively denominated in local currency and low interest service burden implies a higher level of debt tolerance than many high-grade peers. – The international reserve currency status of sterling and the ability and willingness of the Bank of England to intervene in the UK government debt market largely eliminates the risk of a self-fulfilling fiscal financing crisis. – The gradual improvement in the UK banking sector’s capital and liquidity position has further reduced contingent liabilities arising from this sector. The UK’s ‘AA+’ rating is underpinned by its high-income, diversified and flexible economy as well as a high degree of political and social stability. The monetary policy framework as well as sterling’s international reserve currency status afford the UK a high degree of financial and economic policy flexibility. Strong civil and policy institutions and a high degree of transparency enhance the predictability of the business and economic policy environment that compares favourably with peers in the ‘AA’ category. Weak economic performance and growth prospects, relatively high levels of private and foreign as well as public debt, along with sizeable twin fiscal and current account deficits, are weaknesses relative to rating peers. RATING SENSITIVITIES The Stable Outlook indicates a less than 50% chance of a change in the UK sovereign ratings over the next two years.

Fitch Downgrades United Kingdom to ‘AA+’; Outlook Stable

We believe it is one of the strongest tourism markets in Western Europe, with the highest hotels industry value and one of the highest tourism arrivals and tourism receipts values; we see these trends continuing throughout our forecast period. The UK is also due to host two major international sporting events over the coming years – the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2015 Rugby World Cup (at various locations around the country). These events are likely to result in large numbers of participants and spectators travelling to the United Kingdom. An overview of the UK’s top 10 tourism markets highlights the fact that Europe remains the UK’s main source of tourism, despite the continuing economic uncertainty. However we are calculating a slight decline on our previous Q4 forecast as the continuing economic downturn in much of Europe over this period is likely to act as a deterrent for potential tourists. However the other regions are forecast to see a growth in arrivals over 2013 and we have increased our forecasts for inbound tourists from these regions. After a period of significant infrastructure development and hotel-building activity in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games, the scene may now be set for more modest overall growth in the UK’s hotel industry. Recent developments include: – Accor is launching a new brand in the UK, the Adiago aparthotels, the first of which opened in Liverpool in March 2013. – The group also re-launched their Mercure hotel in London in June 2013, following an extensive redesign of the hotel. It is the flagship UK hotel in a brand Accor is hoping to double the size of by 2016. – Over the past quarter ICHG has signed three new hotels to its Holiday Inn brand. UK construction company Balfour Beatty secured a contract worth GBP121mn (US$181.5mn) to build a hotel, leisure and apartment complex for Grove Developments in North Greenwich Peninsula in London. – China-based commercial property and entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is to develop a hotel and residential project in London. – UK conglomerate Rigby Group has acquired a majority stake in Exeter International Airport.